Two young men arrested, along with a teenage boy, on suspicion of committing an armed robbery at a Long Beach business are facing felony charges, police and prosecutors said Tuesday.
Officers were dispatched about 2:30 p.m. Feb. 9 to investigate a report of an armed robbery at a business in the 1700 block of Palo Verde Avenue.
"While en route, patrol units were notified that a Long Beach State University police officer was in a vehicle pursuit of the suspects," according to a Long Beach Police Department statement. "The suspect's vehicle was later involved in a collision on campus."
The suspects fled the crash scene, and no one was injured.
Detectives the same day "learned that 21-year-old Adrian Martinez, a resident of Compton, was trying to report his vehicle stolen," police said.
"It was later determined that this subject was involved in the robbery and subsequently arrested."
Detectives then identified two additional suspects. On Feb. 19, they arrested a 16-year-old boy in the 1100 block of North Oleander Avenue in Compton and last Thursday they arrested 19-year-old Alexander Gomez in the 7300 block of Emile Lane in Downey.
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Gomez and Martinez are both charged with one count of second-degree robbery. Martinez is additionally accused of wielding a shotgun during the crime and Gomez of being armed with a knife, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Gomez and Martinez entered not guilty pleas on Monday and are being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to sheriff's inmate records. Martinez is due back in court on Thursday and Gomez on March 7, according to the district attorney's office.
The status of the juvenile was not available.
